Etan Patz has been missing for 33 years. The 6-year-old boy was on his way to his bus stop in New York City for the first time ever when he vanished without a trace. He hasn't been found since.

Etan's case struck a chord with a nation who never paid attention to missing children much so before the Patz family lost their little boy. He was the first missing child to ever appear on the side of a milk carton.

One heartbreaking detail is Etan's parents have never moved from their loft on Prince Street in 22 years because they wanted to be there for their son if he ever returned home.

Strangely, the day before the 33rd anniversary of the 6-year-old's disappearance, an arrest had been made in the case.

The suspect has been identified as Pedro Hernandez who claims he ensnared Etan by offering him candy in 1979 and proceed to murder and dispose of the child's body.

Here's what Mayor Bloomberg said:

"The suspect came forward and made a statement implicating himself. I caution you all that there's a lot more investigating to do - we are one step closer to providing [Patz's family] some measure of relief."

We certainly agree with him about providing relief to the family. Although nothing will ever cure the Patz's family's loss, a bit of closure should help them recover even just a little. We feel so much pain for their family even though it's been an incredibly long time since their baby's disappeared. It's a very tragic tale.

Etan Patz was declared legally dead in 2001, but the police have continued to investigate the case and even excavated a basement supposedly containing human remains just one month ago.